A landslide victory for President Suluhu Hassan in “bloody” elections in Tanzania news

Preliminary results showed that President Samia Suluhu Hassan achieved a landslide victory in the presidential elections in Tanzania, which were accompanied by bloody protests that claimed the lives of hundreds, according to opposition estimates.

The presidential and parliamentary elections were held last Wednesday without the participation of the opposition, after Samia Suluhu Hassan’s main rivals were imprisoned or their nominations were rejected.

State television reported that preliminary results show that the current president received 95% of the votes. The final results are expected to be announced in the coming hours, followed by a quick swearing-in ceremony today, Saturday.

The announcement came after protests erupted since polling day, in which hundreds of people were killed by security forces, according to the largest opposition party, Chadema.

Demonstrators took to the streets in the country, with a population of 68 million, to express their anger at the exclusion of the Tanzanian president’s two biggest rivals from the presidential race, and what they described as widespread repression.

A spokesman for Chadema told Agence France-Presse yesterday, Friday, that “about 700” people were killed, based on numbers collected by health sector workers.

A security and diplomatic source in Dar es Salaam told the agency that the death toll was in the “hundreds” as protests continued on Friday.

The United Nations Human Rights Office stated that reliable reports indicated that at least 10 people were killed in protests in 3 cities, in the first public estimate of deaths issued by an international body.

The Tanzanian president has not issued any public statement since the unrest began, while her government denied using “excessive force” but blocked the Internet and imposed a strict lockdown and curfew nationwide, making it difficult to obtain any information.

News websites have not been updated since Wednesday morning, and journalists have not been allowed to work freely in the country.

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabet Kombo said the death toll announced by the opposition was “extremely exaggerated” and denied that security forces used excessive force.

International concern

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his “deep concern” about the situation in Tanzania, “including reports of deaths and injuries during the demonstrations,” and called for “a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the alleged excessive use of force,” his spokesman said in a statement.

The Foreign Ministers of Britain, Canada and Norway issued a joint statement in which they expressed their concern about the situation, and called on the authorities in Tanzania to exercise the utmost restraint and respect the right to assembly and freedom of opinion.

Hassan sought to strengthen her position and silence critics in her party by achieving a landslide victory. The authorities prevented the Chadema Party from participating, and put its leader on trial on charges of treason.

Human rights activists described the situation in the East African country before the elections as a “wave of terrorism,” including a series of high-profile kidnappings that have escalated in recent days.

Samia Suluhu Hassan assumed the presidency of Tanzania following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021. She was initially praised for easing restrictions imposed by her predecessor, but was later accused of waging a harsh crackdown on her critics.